As King James comes home, a city gets a second chance

Cleveland Indians fans show their support for LeBron James during the game between the Cleveland Indians and the Chicago White Sox at Progressive Field on July 11, 2014 in Cleveland, Ohio. (Photo by Jason Miller, Getty Images)

When LeBron James left Cleveland four years ago, I — a Cleveland native and Cavaliers fan — wrote a column that was published in the Plain Dealer, after originally being published in The Denver Post, criticizing the city for its role in his departure.

I went on to say there was nothing written that said LeBron had to spend his entire life in his hometown simply because he was drafted by the Cavaliers. What 24-year-old wouldnâ€™t want to go to Miami and experience the beaches and nightlife? What kid wouldnâ€™t want to experience the anonymity of that life (say Johnny Football)?

I also said Cleveland didnâ€™t take advantage of building a team around LeBron, who had taken them to the NBA Finals in 2007. We should have been back there in subsequent years. But we wasted the opportunity despite selling out the Q every night. That seemed good enough. We came to learn that was not good enough for King James.

Finally, I argued that the city should have taken advantage of his 7 years in Cleveland to rebuild the city around LeBron. We had time to build up the downtown, especially turning Burke Lakefront Airport into Clevelandâ€™s newest neighborhood for Millennials.

Today, we have a second chance and a damn good one. LeBron is coming home.

The LeBron of today is a more mature player. He knows how to win and how to be a leader. His letter to the fans and city of Cleveland show how much. He defined what Cleveland is – a place to run and play and learn how to be loyal. He actually articulated that he missed it and gave voice to his own yearning for Cleveland to be a city of champions. He acknowledged not understanding that four years ago. He acknowledged having grown up in the time he was away. He talked about the challenge of winning a championship and how the people of the city understood a championship had to be earned. He is no messiah. What a great lesson he helped teach our kids in a simple epistle.

Even more important was the lesson in forgiveness. If LeBron had not forgiven Dan Gilbert for his silly letter and stupid grudge, we wouldnâ€™t have been talking about even the possibility of a return. He had forgiven, as we later learned, but then he took the time to explain. We all make mistakes and who was he to judge? But more important, he showed us he understood why our reaction was so extreme. Despite the pain endured by himself, his wife and mother, he put himself in the shoes of young fans who grew up worshipping him and the devastation they felt when he turned his back on them and their dreams. That is the part of the letter that made me want to cry. He repudiated what Charles Barkley proclaimed: That athletes are not role models.

LeBron gets it. He can lift a cityâ€™s spirits and the people who live in it. One man can do that. Talk about a challenge.

Best of all, he smacked Donald Sterling eloquently. Despite the silly speculation that if LeBron went back to the Cavs and its owner Dan Gilbert, he would make hollow his criticism of Sterling in the aftermath of Sterlingâ€™s racist comments being made public.

Ridiculous.

He said then there was no place in the NBA for that attitude and the players would not tolerate it.

Gilbertâ€™s comments were nowhere near as incendiary as Sterlingâ€™s. Anytime someone like LeBron leaves a team, the only thing you can do is strike out personally, sort of what Pat Riley did when the Heat got blown out in the finals, when he challenged LeBron not to walk out the first door he found. That is not that different than what Gilbert flamed. But it was not about race, as it was with Donald Sterling.

In the end, LeBron chalked it up to a bad night with Gilbert. And he was right. Who was he to judge, he said. After all, he had dissed Cleveland and all he loved on a very bad night on ESPN. A simple sorry should be enough. And it is.

It is deeds that matter now. Cleveland should not squander a second shot at The King. LeBron has promised to put in the work to win a championship. There will be no glitz, no press conferences and parties. That is a message to Johnny Football to get serious about bringing a championship the Browns. Get busy. Stop the photo-ops. Learn from the King. This is good for the Browns!

Lastly, what I loved about the letter was LeBronâ€™s statement about what his return means for the city. The aforementioned rebuke to Sterling is most evident here. Here he embraces Magic Johnson, who in his post-basketball life has worked hard to energize and revive inner cities in America. Despite what Sterling says about Magic not doing anything for minorities, LeBron suggests that he intends to transcend basketball in helping Cleveland rebound. Is that not the Magic Model?

Cleveland needs to take this second chance to embrace LeBron the businessman and get him to invest in the redevelopment of the cityâ€™s lakefront. He has proven he is a savvy businessman, snagging $30 million in profits from investing in Dr. Dreâ€™s Beats audio incubator that Apple recently bought.

Yes, things are looking up for Cleveland. Not just on the basketball court.

Can you think of a better time in Cleveland history? We got Johnny Manziel, the GOP Republican Convention and LeBron James in two months. What a season! And it has not even started yet.

I am the Editor -in-Chief of The Denver Post. I have been in journalism since 1976, getting my start at the defunct Journal Herald in Dayton. Four years later, I went to work for my hometown newspaper.

I am a Colorado native who has been at The Post since 1996, working in copy editing and design before moving to administration. I created my first newspaper when the Broncos went to the Super Bowl in 1978.

I am the Digital Director for The Denver Post. I joined the Postâ€™s web staff in 1999 â€” one week before the tragedy at Columbine High School. Prior to my journalism career, I worked in Washington as a legislative assistant for a New York congressman.

I am the Senior Editor/News at the Denver Post. I have been at The Post sincd 1999 in a variety of positions, including city editor and investigations editor. I previously worked at The Des Moines Register, and in Greenville, S.C.

I am the Managing Editor for Presentation and Design, overseeing the work of all visual journalists at The Post. I am a graduate of the University of Iowa (Go Hawks!) who has spent 33 years in the newspaper business.

I am the Denver Post city editor and a Colorado native, who has worked at news organizations of all sizes. Raised to be a princess, I continue my adolescent rebellion by keeping bees and chickens in the backyard of a house my husband and I rescued from the wrecking ball. Read her full biography »